Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 12 (2013) pp. 446-459
http://www.ijcmas.com
Original Research Article
Using Biotechnology in Recycling Agricultural Waste for Sustainable
Agriculture and Environmental Protection
F.N.Al-Barakah, S.M. A. Radwan* and R.A.Abdel-Aziz
Department of Soil Science, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University,
P. O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
*Corresponding author
ABSTRACT
Keywords
Compost;
agricultural
wastes;
sheep
manure;
heavy metals;
biological
parameters.
Composting is a way to transform the waste materials left over from agricultural
production and processing into a useful resource. The potential of composting to
turn on-farm waste material into farm resources makes it an attractive proposition.
This study was conducted to assess compost production at large commercial scale
using three different agricultural waste (date trees, olive trees and maize) and
animal manure (sheep manure) with four rates as organic activator (5 ,10 ,20 and
40%) as well as chemical activator treatment. Turned windrow method was
applied in the composting process. The piles were turned every week; then
temperature was checked and values were recorded every day. Composite samples
were collected regularly for testing chemical and biological parameters. The results
showed a specific decrease in C/N ratio of all treatments especially in 20% and
40% organic manure treatments, combined with production of compost free from
coliform group bacteria and Cadmium heavy metal. The organic manure as
activator provides good quality compost product as compared to chemical
activator. It could be concluded that the commercial compost product made from
agriculture waste and treated with the organic manure activator is a safe alternative
to chemical fertilizers and the best soil amendment that nature provides. These
agricultural wastes, when fully exploited could have an important role in the
production of safe and healthy food in Saudi Arabia.
Introduction
There are shortages of organic fertilizers
in the arid areas including Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia produced annually about
eleven million tons of agricultural wastes.
Composting the agricultural waste is an
alternative trail to alleviate the negative
impact of its accumulation and/or avoid
the environmental pollution.
446
Abou Hussein and Sawan (2010)
concluded that recycling agriculture
wastes is a must for environment as well
as economical saving. This recycling will
not only increase agricultural production
but also will improve its quality.
Composting is considered a biological
process in which microorganisms convert
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
organic residues into soil-like material
called compost. Geisel (2001) and ElHagga et al. (2004) reported windrows
composting is a commonly used
processing method. The microbial
decomposition of organic wastes is
controlled by environmental factors
affecting microbial activity within the
windrow piles. There are some factors
affecting
composting
and
directly
influence the rate of decomposition, such
as particle size, moisture content, aeration,
temperature, C/N ratio and pH. Therefore,
intensive management of the composting
process by turning and moisture addition
is likely to affect the N fertilizer value of
the mature compost.
Recycling of agricultural wastes is worthy
for providing high quality organic
fertilizers that can be used in fertilization
of agricultural lands. Managing residues
plays an important role in system nutrient
cycling and in the dynamics of plant
pathogens. The microorganisms play
significant role in the recycling process
due to powerful enzymatic mechanisms
involved in their biological system and the
challenge is to enhance the value of plant
residues at the expense of the negative
value through the composting process
(Blaine Metting, 1993).
Microbial technologies for agriculture and
waste
management
are
receiving
significant attention to meet the special
need of developing countries. Therefore,
this work aims at raising the fertilizing
value of some agricultural wastes through
the composting process using different
rates of animal manure as compost
activator.
Microbial inoculation of compostable
material could allow the inoculated
microorganisms (Streptomycs aurefaciens,
Trichoderma viridie, T. harzianum,
Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis) to
dominate over the indigenous microbiota
and successfully develop appropriate
degradation (Badr El Din et al., 2000).
Materials and Methods
The important advantages of composting
are the reduction of the wastes, the
destruction of weed seeds and of
pathogenic microorganisms (Bernal et al.,
2009). Additional benefits of composting
as mechanism for waste management are
production of valuable soil amendments,
low operation costs, easy to be applied in
most of developing countries, and
encouragement
of
environmentally
friendly practices such as reduction of the
emission of greenhouse gases, promote the
efficiency
of
fertilizer
application
(Hoornweg et al., 2000).
The present investigation was carried out
at El-Jouf region, Saudi Arabia to study
the bioconversion of agricultural waste
into valuable product (compost) using the
sheep manure as organic activator. For the
preparation of compost as organic
fertilizer, the turned windrow method was
used (Fleming, 2001). Three agricultural
wastes of palm trees, olive and maize were
mechanically grinded to produce waste of
particle size 2 inches then equally mixed.
Sheep manure is used as organic activator
with different rates. Five treatments were
implemented by using mixture of
agricultural wastes with four rates of sheep
manure as organic activator (5, 10, 20 and
40%) as well as chemical activator
treatment.
One feature of sustainable agriculture is its
lower dependence on chemical fertilizers
and recycling of on-farm residues to
maintain and/or improve soil fertility.
447
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Five different treatments were composted
aerobically in windrows (15 x 2.5 x 1.2 m)
with aeration through turning (Suhaimi
and Ong, 2001). Eighteen tons of each
treatment were prepared, and mixed well
mechanically. The chemical activator
mixture [(20 kg ammonium sulphate
(20.6%N) + 7 kg superphosphate (15.5%
P2O5) + 2.5 kg of potassium sulphate,
48%K2O)] was mixed well with one ton
from the mixture of agricultural waste,in
the first treatment. Commercial calcium
carbonate at rate of 2% was added to all
treatments. The different materials of each
treatment in the experiment (mixture of
agricultural
waste,
sheep
manure,
chemical activator and calcium carbonate)
were divided into three parts. The first
portion of the chopped mixture of
agricultural waste was scattered over the
area (37.5 m2) followed by addition of a
portion of the chemical activator or the
sheep manure with the different rates, and
finally a portion of commercial calcium
carbonate was spreaded over it. The first
layer was also inoculated with a mixture of
1 × 108 of each of Streptomycs aurefaciens,
Trichoderma viridie, T. harzianum,
Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis (1
L/ton) as a microbial activator for fasting
decomposition in all treatments and then
wetted. The moisture was considered
satisfactory when a handful of material
would wet the hand but not drip (about 6070% WHC). The material then thoroughly
tamped. The first layer was about 40 cm
height was then built. The other two layers
were built over the first layer in the same
manner. Water was added if necessary to
keep the moisture content inside the pile at
60% of the weight through the experiment.
The materials in each pile were
mechanically turned every week. Pile
temperature was monitored daily through
the center of the compost piles at different
locations of depth 50 cm. The piles were
left
3
months
for
composting.
Homogenized and randomized samples
were taken manually after 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12
weeks, mixed thoroughly and four
replicates
were
examined
microbiologically for total count of
aerobic mesophillic bacteria, aerobic
mesophillic and thermophillic cellulosedecomposing bacteria. The serial dilution
plate count procedure was used to estimate
the total count of aerobic mesophillic
bacteria (Difco, 1966). Dobus,s cellulose
medium (Allen, 1982) was used for the
counting of aerobic mesophillic and
thermophillic cellulose- decomposing
bacteria. Total coliforms were counted
onto standard violet red bile (VRB) agar
incubated at 37 C for 24 h (ICMSF,
1983). Microbial counts were expressed as
colony-forming units per gram of compost
materials (cfu/g). Representative samples
of surface and the central parts of the piles
were also taken manually after 0, 30, 60
and 90 days, mixed thoroughly and
examined physically for EC (Chen et al.,
1988), and chemically for OC% (AOAC,
1970), pH, OM%, C/N ratio, NH4-N, NO3N and total N by Kjeldahl method (Page et
al., 1982), total-P, total-K, Cu, Fe, Mn,
Zn, Cd, Ni and Pb (Cottenie et al., 1982).
At the end of the experiment, density and
toxicity of the produced compost were
determined.
Results and Discussion
Temperature changes
Temperature is an important factor in
composting efficiency, due to its
influences on the activity and diversity of
microorganisms (Finstein et al., 1986).
Changes in temperature during the
composting process are shown in Table
(1). The outside temperature was about
37 C in the day and 27 C in the night.
448
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Three periods were distinguished: a phase
of latency which correlates to microbial
population adapted in the compost
conditions, a phase of sudden rise in
temperature up to 64 C and a phase of
cooling in which the temperature
decreased progressively and returned to its
starting values. At the beginning, the
temperature was between 34 - 36 C and
increased to 40 42 C (the end mesophilic
stage) after 4 days (data not shown). After
7 days, temperature was raised to 52-56
C with little variations till the third
week. The maximum values 62-64 C
were found after 3 and 4 weeks. Then the
temperature gradually decreased and
reached to 34-38 C by the end of
composting (3 months). The high
temperature inside the piles is necessary to
destroy pathogens. However, temperature
should not exceed 65oC, as this would kill
almost all microorganisms and cause the
process to cease. The rising of temperature
during composting is mainly due to the
activity of microorganisms in the
degradation of agricultural wastes. The
results were in agreement with the
findings of El-Meniawy (2003); AbdelAziz & Al-Barakah (2005) and Eida
(2007). The obtained results revealed that
a negative correlation was found between
temperatures and composting time, this
was due to decreasing in temperature by
the end of composting. Generally, the
increase in temperature may be also
attributed to the suitability of composting
conditions (C/N ratio, moisture content,
aeration, particle size) for microbial and
enzymatic activities. On the other hand,
the decrease in temperature was attributed
to the decrease in microbial and enzymatic
activities. This was supported by the
results of Noguerira et al.(1999). The
aeration is important in composting
process for providing the oxygen needed
to support aerobic microorganisms,
controlling the temperature and for
removing water vapor, CO2 and other
gases (Haug, 1986). The overall goal of the
aeration is
to maintain compost
temperature in the range 50-55 C to
obtain
efficient
thermophillic
decomposition
of
organic
wastes
(Mckinley and Vestal, 1984).
Thus,
precise temperature control is necessary to
provide pathogenic reduction, while
maintaining a healthy comity of
composting microbes (Mckinley et al.,
1985). The maturity stage wa s started
when the temperature decreased to normal
air daily temperature and remain constant
with turning of the piles (Harada et al.,
1981). Therefore, this parameter is
considered as a good indicator for the end
of the biodegradation phase in which the
compost achieves maturity (Jimenez and
Garcia, 1989).
Microbiological changes
Data in Table 2 showed that total bacterial
counts was increased gradually and
reached its maximum after 6 weeks from
initial, then decreased until the end of the
composting period (120 days). These
results indicated the importance of
mesophilic bacteria at the beginning of
composting as they attack readily
decomposable constituents of organic
wastes. These data are in accordance with
those obtained by Khalil et al. (2001) who
demonstrated that bacteria flourished
because of their ability to grow rapidly on
soluble protein and other readily available
substrates and because they are the more
tolerate to high temperature. They added
also that mesophilic microorganisms are
responsible for the initial decomposition of
organic materials and the generation of
heat responsible for the increase in
compost temperature. The sharp decreases
in microbial population at the maturity
449
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Table.1 Mean of temperature variations during composting process
Treatments
0
1
Agricultural wastes+ CA
35
52
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
36
53
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
35
54
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
34
56
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
35
55
CA: Chemical Activator SM: Sheep Manure
2
57
58
56
58
58
Time (weeks)
3
4
6
Temperature ( C)
62
63
54
62
64
55
63
64
56
65
63
53
64
63
55
8
10
12
48
47
46
49
48
41
42
45
43
44
34
36
38
36
37
Table.2 Microbiological changes during composting of agricultural wastes treated
with different rates of sheep manure (Counts / g dry material).
Time in weeks
Treatments
0
3
6
9
12
Total bacterial counts (Counts ×107 CFU/g)
Agricultural wastes+ CA
15
74
165
132
23
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
37
86
181
156
48
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
49
110
192
162
77
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
65
115
196
180
96
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
86
119
210
186
104
Mesophillic aerobic cellulose decomposer
(Counts ×104 CFU/g)
Agricultural wastes+ CA
139
32
98
63
54
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
158
60
117
86
75
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
160
66
128
97
82
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
168
77
136
121
84
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
176
90
138
133
96
Thermophillic aerobic cellulose decomposer
(Counts ×105 CFU/g)
Agricultural wastes+ CA
26
81
102
69
41
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
38
85
113
78
54
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
41
92
123
86
55
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
59
100
123
91
66
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
63
106
129
91
78
Total coliform (Counts ×10 CFU/g )
Agricultural wastes+ CA
67
31
2
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
119
43
5
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
122
43
6
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
142
48
6
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
159
57
8
CA: Chemical Activator SM: Sheep Manure
450
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
stage could be deduced to the diminution
of moisture and depletion of organic
matter at the later stage of composting
process. Data also clearly showed that
total bacterial counts were increased as the
rate of sheep manure increased. The
treatment of agricultural waste + 40%
sheep manure gave the highest bacterial
counts, while the treatment of agricultural
waste + 5% sheep manure recorded the
least one. These results were in harmony
with those of Abo-Sedera, (1995) and
Radwan & Awad (2002).
inaccessible to enzymatic attack because
of low water content or association with
protective substrates such as lignin. These
results also indicated that changes in
temperature of the composted piles govern
the
types
and
development
of
microorganisms
concerned
in
the
decomposition process (Abdel-Aziz & AlBarakah, 2005 and Eida, 2007). In general,
aerobic cellulose decomposing bacteria
were increased as the rate of sheep manure
increased and rend of total bacterial
counts.
Data in Table 2 show sharp decrease in
counts of mesophilic aerobic cellulose
decomposing bacteria at the third week of
composting followed by increases till the
end of the composting process. These
results indicated the importance of
mesophilic aerobic cellulose decomposing
bacteria at the beginning of composting as
they attack cellulytic decomposable
constituents of organic wastes. The
decreasing in mesophilic aerobic cellulose
decomposing bacteria after 3 weeks was
due to the high temperature (62 64 oC)
recorded at that time. These results were in
harmony with those of El-Meniawy (2003)
and Eida (2007).
Results showed that total coli form counts
were higher in all sheep manure treatments
as compared to chemical activator
treatment (Table 2). Data clearly showed
that total coli form counts were gradually
decreased during the first 6 weeks and
completely disappeared at the ninth week
in all treatments. This could be attributed
to the achievement of maximum compost
temperature 62 -64 oC at the third week.
This high temperature is sufficient to
kill pathogens and parasite inside the
composting pile. These results are in
line with those of Lasaridi et al. (2006)
and Sadik et al.(2012). These results
clearly proved that the produced compost is
free from pathogens and parasites.
Counts of thermophilic aerobic cellulose
decomposing bacteria in the composted
materials showed a marked increase after
21 days of composting and reached its
maximum counts at the 6th week (Table,
2). This was mainly due to the high
temperature of the pile during this period
of composting. Thermophilic aerobic
cellulose decomposing bacteria, thereafter,
decreased with the fall of temperature until
the end of the composting period. This
decline in numbers could deduced to the
postulates mentioned by Ryckeboer et al.
(2003) that during the curing and maturity
phase the cellulose may become
Physicochemical changes
Dry matter content
Dry matter content of the different
treatments decreased gradually during the
whole period of composting (Table, 3).
Total loss of dry matter content amounted
to be 45.0, 46.0, 46.6, 46.8 and 47.4 %
from the initial amount of treatments No.
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. These
results are in line with those of Wallace
(2003) and Eida (2007). The present
results clearly indicate the rapid
degradation of agricultural waste treated
451
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Table.3 Physicochemical changes during composting of agricultural wastes treated
with different rates of sheep manure as organic activator
Treatments
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
18213
18456
Time in days
30
60
Dry Matter (Kg)
12545
10691
12313
10692
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
18397
18397
18425
12057
11938
11676
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
8.68
8.50
8.41
8.33
8.18
Agricultural wastes+ CA
2.13
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
2.35
2.50
2.63
3.06
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
92.45
90.84
88.56
84.72
77.04
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
53.63
52.48
51.37
49.14
44.68
0
CA: Chemical Activator
SM: Sheep Manure
452
90
10017
9966
10855
11018
10896
pH
7.84
7.68
7.62
7.46
7.51
7.43
7.49
7.32
7.36
7.28
EC (dSm-1)
2.62
2.91
9827
9789
9685
2.74
3.05
2.94
3.15
2.88
3.21
3.20
3.60
Organic matter (%)
65.72
56.41
64.95
55.16
63.53
54.25
60.84
51.72
59.14
47.82
Organic Carbon (%)
3.59
3.61
3.86
4.20
38.12
37.67
36.85
35.29
34.30
32.72
31.99
31.46
30.00
27.73
7.52
7.32
7.31
7.15
7.11
3.48
51.77
49.04
47.37
45.49
41.60
30.03
28.45
27.47
26.39
24.13
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Table.4 Changes in N-forms and C/N ratio during composting of agricultural waste treated
with different rates of sheep manure as organic activator
Treatments
0
Time (weeks)
30
60
Total N (%)
1.34
1.43
1.35
1.46
1.42
1.53
1.55
1.64
1.68
1.76
NH4 (ppm)
337
284
225
173
262
196
281
232
293
206
NO3 (ppm)
337
389
364
396
392
415
402
427
90
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
1.06
0.85
0.90
1.08
1.20
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
524
362
447
492
499
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
62
64
70
76
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
80
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
1.00
0.81
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
0.85
1.02
1.14
1.35
1.47
1.48
1.57
1.61
1.69
C/N ratio
1.63
1.73
1.77
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
53.63
64.79
60.44
48.18
30.02
29.20
27.29
23.84
24.06
22.85
21.40
19.11
21.15
19.09
16.85
15.25
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
39.19
CA: Chemical Activator SM: Sheep Manure
21.30
16.41
13.63
453
419
484
Organic N (%)
1.27
1.36
1.29
1.40
1.48
1.55
1.69
1.79
1.84
212
136
147
158
162
422
447
465
483
510
1.42
1.49
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
with sheep manure as organic activator if
compared to agricultural wastes treated
with chemical activator. This may be due
to the increase of microorganism's activity
in biodegradation of agricultural waste in
the presence of sheep manure as organic
activator if compared to chemical activator
treatment. It seems that the highest rate of
decomposition took place at high
temperature and the rate was decreased
during the subsequent low temperature
period.
sulfate. They also added that lower levels
of pH indicate a lack of available salts,
while high levels indicate a large amount
of soluble salts that may inhibit biological
activity or may be unsuitable for soil
application if large quantities of the
compost are used. Although the gradual
increase in the EC during the composting
process of different treatments, they did
not exceed over the recommended limits.
The increment in EC values may be
attributed to loss of biomass through the
biotransformation of organic materials and
also to release of some contents as mineral
elements. Similar results indicated an
increase in EC during composting process
(Abd El- Maksoud et al., 2002 and
Abdelhamid et al., 2004). Recently,
Lasaridi et al. (2006) proposed that value
of 4.0 ds/m for EC is a level considered
tolerable by plants whereas values from 6
to 12 ds/m indicating toxicity due to salts
for most plants up to the Greek standers.
pH
It is well known that the pH adjustment is
important for healthy plant growth. In the
present study, pH values of raw materials
of the different treatments at initial time of
composting were slightly alkaline, 8.68,
8.50, 8.41, 8.37 and 8.18 for the treatments
No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (Table,
3). During composting, pH values
decreased gradually due to the formation
of organic acids during the metabolism of
relatively readily available carbohydrates,
consumption
of
ammonia
by
microorganisms and as a result of
volatilization of free ammonia to the air.
Finally, the pH tended to stabilize due to
humus formation with its buffering
capacity at the fermentation of composting
activity as also mentioned by Khalil et al.
(2001) and Abdel-Aziz & Al-Barakah
(2005).
Organic carbon and organic matter
content
Changes in the figures of organic carbon
(OC) and matter (OM) contents during
composting of different treatments found
to be in line with those recorded for the
dry matter content (Table, 3). The most
active period of decomposition was
noticed at the high temperature periods.
This indicates the important role of the
thermophilic
organisms
in
the
decomposition process (Abo- Sedera, 1995
and El-Meniawy, 2003). The organic
carbon and matter contents were decreased
during the composting process. The
decreases of OC and OM were expected
owing to the evolution and volatilization
of CO2 throughout the biodegradation of
OM
by
aerobic
heterotrophic
microorganisms. The loss in organic
matter content during the decomposition
Salinity level (EC)
It was observed that EC of agricultural
waste treated with sheep manure as
organic activator was higher than that of
chemical activator treatment at the initial
time of composting (Table, 3). Moldes et
al. (2007) demonstrated that the
components contributing most to salinity
are Na+, K+, Cl-, ammonia, nitrate and
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Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
Table.5 Changes in total macro-nutrient (%), micro-nutrients and heavy metal (µg g-1)
during composting of agricultural waste mixed with different rates of sheep manure as
organic activator.
Treatments
Macro-nutrients
N
P
K
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
1.06
0.85
0.90
1.08
1.20
0.512
0.459
0.508
0.607
0.805
0.452
0.344
0.368
0.416
0.512
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
1.34
1.35
1.42
1.55
1.68
0.562
0.513
0.544
0.694
0.911
0.532
0.387
0.432
0.498
0.629
Agricultural wastes+ CA
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM
1.43
1.46
1.53
1.64
1.76
0.566
0.524
0.556
0.709
0.955
0.561
0.409
0.467
0.525
0.661
Agricultural wastes+ CA
1.48 0.573
Agricultural wastes+ 5% SM
1.55 0.532
Agricultural wastes+ 10% SM 1.69 0.569
Agricultural wastes+ 20% SM 1.79 0.715
Agricultural wastes+ 40% SM 1.84 0.978
CA: Chemical Activator SM: Sheep Manure
0.583
0.424
0.482
0.547
0.682
period amounted to be 44.0, 45.8, 46.51,
46.3 and 46.0 % of the initial amount of
treatments No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,
respectively. This indicates that the rate of
decomposition was high in treatments
mixed with sheep manure as organic
activator in comparison to chemical
activator treatment. This could be due to
Micro-nutrients
Fe
Mn Zn
Initial
3800
36
54
4344
42
24
4998
47
27
5466
54
32
5748
74
49
30 Days
5122
61
67
6097
83
29
6235
89
33
7116
98
38
7604 104 55
60 Days
6213 69 82
6834 96 31
7212 94 34
7810 112 40
8264 127 56
90 Days
6425 75 88
7156 101 32
7936 109 35
8130 122 42
8994 137 57
Cu
Heavy metals
Pb
Ni
Cd
19
17
20
22
27
9
3
3
3
4
12
2
2
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
23
23
26
28
32
11
4
4
4
5
14
3
3
5
4
0
0
0
0
0
24
24
27
28
33
12
5
5
5
6
15
4
4
6
5
0
0
0
0
0
25
24
28
30
35
12
5
5
5
6
15
4
4
6
5
0
0
0
0
0
the high content of easily decomposable
substances in the treatments mixed with
different rates of sheep manure than that of
chemical activator treatment. Moldes et al.
(2007) mentioned that, there is no absolute
level of OM that is ideal in term of
compost quality, but rather the qualities
must be viewed in relation to the age of
455
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
compost, its N content and its intended
use.
3, 4 and 5. The changes in C/N ratio could
be taken as evidence of the degradation
rate of the organic materials and the
maturity of compost. These results are in
line with those of Abdelhamid et al.
(2004) who stated that C/N value of
around or below 20 could be considered
satisfactory. Khalil et al. (2001)
demonstrated that the C/N ratio of mature
compost should ideally be about 10 but
this is hardly ever achievable due to the
presence
of
recalcitrant
organic
compounds, or materials which resist
decomposition due to their physical or
chemical properties. Some authors
reported that a C/N ratio below 20 is an
indicative
of
acceptable
maturity.
However, Moldes et al. (2007) stated that
compost might be considered mature when
C/N ratio is approximately 17 or less,
unless lignocellulytic materials remain.
Available, organic and total nitrogen
As the result of decomposition process,
NH4-N was decreased, while, NO3, and the
percentage of total & organic nitrogen
were increased in all treatments (Table, 4).
Composted materials contain significant
amounts of N in organic form that, whilst
not easily available to plants, are also less
leachable (Eida, 2007). The increase in
total nitrogen percent may be due to the
higher oxidation of non- nitrogenous
organic materials and partially to the N2fixation by non-symbiotic nitrogen fixers
as indexed by the increase in organic
nitrogen. This indicates that the
immobilization of nitrogen taken place
during composting and conserved the
nitrogen from loss.
Macronutrients
C/N ratio
Definitely, the macronutrients N, P and K
are the most consumed elements by plants
at the all stages of growth. The quantity
and form of N, in particular, present in
manure or compost is important in shaping
the quality of the material and for its
agronomic use and are increasingly more
often defined in compost specification
(Lasaridi et al., 2006 and Moldes et al.,
2007). The concentrations of NPK were
increased during the composting process
in all treatments (Table, 5). Data clearly
showed that the concentrations of NPK in
organic manure treatments were higher
than that of chemical activator treatment at
initial and end of composting process.
Generally, the increase in total NPK
during composting may have been due to
the net loss of dry mass as loss of organic
C as CO2. Moreover, total N can also be
increased by the activities of associative
N-fixing bacteria at the end of composting
The C/N ratio is one of the main creteria
that describe the composting process. It is
often used as an index of composting
maturity, despite many pitfalls associated
with this approach, but it seems to be a
reliable parameter for following the
development of the composting process
(Khalil et al., 2001). Changes in the ratio
of organic carbon to nitrogen during
composting of agricultural wastes treated
with different rates of sheep manure are
recorded in Table, 4. The C/N ratios were
first 53.6, 64.8, 60.4, 48.2 and 39.2 for
treatments No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,
respectively. As the result of the changes
in the amount of nitrogen and the loss of
organic carbon during composting process,
a progressive narrowing in the C/N ratios
of the composted materials was observed
reaching to 21.2, 19.1, 16.9, 15.3 and 13.6,
in respective order for treatments No. 1, 2,
456
Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2013) 2(12): 446-459
process (Abdelhamid et al., 2004). These
results are in similar with those obtained
by different authors (Abd El-Maksoud et
al., 2001, 2002; Kaviraj & Sharma, 2003
and Eida, 2007).
EAP for Exceptional Quality compost and
Spanish legislation for fertilization
including compost according to Lasaridi et
al. (2006) and Moldes et al. (2007).
Generally, the international regulations
limits were ranged between mean values
of 10-39, 25- 200 and 45-500 mg kg-1 for
Cd, Ni and Pb, respectively. Whereas the
values for same metals in the final product
of compost were ranged between, 6 12, 5
15 and 0 mg kg-1 for Ni, Pb and Cd, in
respective order.
Micronutrients
It was seen that the Fe content was higher
than the other elements in all treatments
(Table, 5). Conversely, the other three
elements, Mn, Zn and Cu recorded
moderate increases until the maturity
stage. Thus composting can concentrate
micronutrients (Zorpas et al., 2002).
Micronutrients
in
organic
manure
treatments were higher than that of
chemical activator one at initial and end of
composting.
It can be concluded that improper handling
of agricultural waste results in several
environmental risks such as pollution of
soil, water and air. Therefore, it could be
recommended that windrows composting
is the more convenient and faster practice
for composting of agricultural waste and
could be replicated more than once a year
for consumption a total agricultural waste
to mitigate the environmental pollution.
Heavy metals
The initial content of heavy metals in
chemical activator treatment was higher
than the organic activator ones,
consequently were all the values recorded
at the different stages of composting
process. In general, slight increase were
recorded in the total content of Ni and Pb
throughway the processing of compost
with a little differences between the initial
value and the maturity one. However, Cd
was not detected in all treatments either at
initial or during the composting process.
Maximum permissible international values
are set for heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni
and Pb) although the limits vary widely
(Hogg et al., 2002).
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the Deanship of
Scientific research Center, College of
Food and Agricultural Sciences, King
Saud University for funding this research.
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